Party Boat pool "irregularity"?

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by tombanjo

If you spent as much time standing up for yourself at the scene of the "crime" as you did writing this then maybe you would have won and set a good example for your son.

On an unfamiliar boat you:

1. Ask the mate to switch the fish

2. Check the other fish for foreign objects

3. Check the scale

If the mate resists any of this, scream bloody murder to the captain and threaten you'll go public with it.

As I said, at that instant, i didn't think much about a "crime"...
More confused until an hour or so later when I started to think more about it.

Secondly, the boat was not really "unfamiliar" to me.. I go out out on it once or twice a year, for the past several years.. always liked the main captain, seemed like a decent guy. However, the mate was one in a procession- like many boats, they never seem to be there all the time over several years.

I would be hesitant to ask for weights in a fish etc, its just not really how i am wired, and checking personally is a good way to get a fist in the face.
Checking the scale?.. how exactly?... Its not my property, and I am pretty sure most captains would not want a guy they don't know handling it...

As i said, past several years, I have seen a LOT more good fishermen, lots of old timers like me included, refuse to enter the pool.. Might be a pattern here that I should be aware of..
Most people are more aggressive to defend themselves in matters such as this than I am, and might well be more cynical and less trusting. I am typically quieter than most in situations like this, trusting those that are running the business to do the correct thing.. thats my weakness for certain, I can offer no real defense, except to say that next time , IF I enter a pool, I will ask at least that the mate level the scale with both fish, and possibly reverse them... bob

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Rocky

A great way to check those scales would be to hang a full beer can on each side by the pull tap, and then switching the cans to make sure it was correct.

Possibly, but if an outsider asked the mate to do it, both he and the captain might very well get pretty pissed off... bob

[Meat Hunter]

I don't get in any pools anymore. At all. Had a mate skim the pool I won last year. The boat was FULL!!!!!! Got me for around 85 to 100 dollars. Never again.


Meat hunter......

[Reel Class]

You definitely should've brought it to the captains attention.

[jigmup]

I wish you just let everyone know the boat! Perhaps the mates might treat their customers a bit better if they were under the microscope.

[Chrisper4694]

in my experience, people who are low enough to cheat aren't worth talking to or reasoning with anyway. I def would of recommended saying something though to test the waters, if the mate blew you off I would've left it at that and then never returned with my business to them and warned anyone else that i knew about the situation. plenty of great, honest anglers and crews around and the other ones don't deserve our business imo.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Chrisper4694

in my experience, people who are low enough to cheat aren't worth talking to or reasoning with anyway. I def would of recommended saying something though to test the waters, if the mate blew you off I would've left it at that and then never returned with my business to them and warned anyone else that i knew about the situation. plenty of great, honest anglers and crews around and the other ones don't deserve our business imo.

agreed, 100%.. The guy in question was an exception no doubt in my mind.. The Main thing I learned here, is that I was more of a wuss than I should have been, but I don't typically call people out in anger any longer at my advancing age,, especially strangers.

With this discussion I have found that most guys would have at least questioned the outcome, and perhaps got the captain involved... I hope there's not a next time, but if so, I will be better prepared.. hell I am seldom close to catching a pool contending fish anyway. bob

[bunker dunker]

dose no good to speculate period.you will never know now what happened.learn from it and move on.pot stirring just breeds bad things.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by bunker dunker

dose no good to speculate period.you will never know now what happened.learn from it and move on.pot stirring just breeds bad things.

c'mon bd, lighten up.. Its just a discussion. I do know what happened, thats what the post is about.. Kindly give me just a bit of credit.. I have been at this a very long time, and even had articles published in a well known magazine about bottom fishing, I have seen a LOT of fish over the years.. I can tell when one fish is bigger and heavier than the other..
I never had to "move on", because it wasn't that big a deal.. I got beat out of a few bucks, big deal happens a lot to a lot of people.. I just thought it would make a good mid winter discussion, and have found that a lot of other anglers can relate similar instances of their own... No need for anger, its just a fishing forum thread.. Doesn't mean all that much in the grand scheme......bob

[Madcrab]

Here is one when the mate collects all the fares and pool money. Instead of going directly to the captain, he makes a detour to closed door room. After ten minutes he appears and go up to the captain. Fishy!

How about when the mate and captain sell their catches to the fishermen. And if one of the fish is a pool winner. The captain and mate split the pool. And use that fisherman name for the winner of the pool.

A mate will let the fisherman a free pass on the pool but if he caught the pool fish, the mate gets to keep the pool prize.

The best way is the way Frances Fleet does it. The fare and pool is collected at the shop, pool money has to be cash. The fare's names are written on the paper, Next to the names will be a check mark for the pool. The pool money is wrapped by the list names and it's handed to the captain. When there is a pool fish the mate will ask for your pool ticket. When it is a close call the Captain makes the final call
.